iPhone rubs its colour off on other appliances

KOLKATA: Call it the iPhone effect. Thanks to the cool and aspirational quotient of iPhone’s metallic tone and glass body, India’s refrigerators and washing machines are taking on new shades.

In the past two years, as Apple’s iPhone consolidated its presence and craze in India with aggressive pricing and marketing, refrigerators, washing machines and microwave ovens in colours such as grey and silver and finishes of steel, mirror and glass have replaced the good old whites, blues and reds, say leading appliance makers LG, Videocon, Godrej and Bosch-Siemens.

The companies said the new hues and finishes now account for 50% of the products sold in the mid-to-high-end market compared with 10% two years ago. The companies are now launching such colours for entry-level models.

“Metallic colours, steel and mirror finishes are the fastest-selling and fastest growing products in our home appliances portfolio,” said Niladri Dutta, chief marketing officer at LG Electronics India, the country’s largest white goods maker. These colours and finishes already contribute about 30% of sales in this category for LG India.

According to these companies, the biggest influence for the craze over metallic finish has been smartphones, especially the iPhone, with consumers suddenly getting exposed to a wide variety of colours and finishes in gadgets. Such colours impart a premium look, which fulfils the aspiration of consumers. Moreover, they are universal and neutral colours that can go with the look of any kitchen or room. Bosch and Siemens Home Appliances chief executive officer Gunjan Srivastava said almost half of its sales of refrigerators are grey, silver, mirror and steel finish as compared with 25% last year. “Various shades of grey and silver are now getting developed. Appliance purchase has become a family affair and even children take part in the decision process, which is why there is a strong rub-off effect of mobile phones in selection,” Srivastava said. Triggered by this trend, Bosch and Siemens have developed washing machines with touch panels for the Indian market, which are manufactured at its Chennai factory.

Godrej Appliances business head Kamal Nandi said the company is already working on bringing glass finish in the mass premium range of refrigerators, which is currently limited to the side-byside or larger 400-litre capacity models. “Indian consumers are aspiring for these finishes. We expect these colours will contribute almost half of the total category sales as compared to 10-15% now in two years,” he said.

Companies have shut down their paint shops in factories since these finishes and designs are mostly pre-coated metallic sheets that are sourced locally or imported from Korea, said Videocon’s chief operating officer CM Singh. “The price gap between pre-coated metallic sheets and painting has come down to a fraction as compared with .Rs 700-800 earlier, which is increasing adoption,” he said.

Next to come is rose gold, which Apple debuted last September in its iPhone 6s and 6s Plus models, with Videocon already considering launching this colour for its up-coming line up.

Jio’s Rs 2,399 annual plan offers 2GB per day data that costs effectively Rs 200 per month. It also offers unlimited voice and SMS. Airtel and Vodafone Idea’s Rs 2398 and Rs 2399 annual plans, on the other hand, offer 1.5GB per day data along with unlimited voice and SMS